


Late Night

by Ladyanaconda



Series: Ni No Kuni II Anthology [4]
Category: Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fatherhood, Fluff, Gen, Heartwarming, Memories, Motherhood, Parenthood, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 01:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18063563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyanaconda/pseuds/Ladyanaconda
Summary: Mausinger must get used to the downsides of fatherhood. But maybe it's not such a bad thing after all.





	Late Night

Had he known what Leonhard was going through at that time he would have been more supportive.

True, children were a blessing, but they were also a handful, noisy and needed ridiculous amounts of care, _especially_ newborns. This made the first nights after the birth of the twins quite exhausting. Mausinger was used to spending overdue time without sleeping, but _this_ was too much even for him.

As months went by, the twins became even more handful, especially after learning to crawl. Not only that, but they showed signs of their different personalities. Leon's favorite pastime was nibbling unto everyone's shoes, tails or whatever he could get into his mouth, going into a terrible wailing fit when someone tried to take his 'toy' away from him. Lillian, on the other hand, was well-behaved and spent her time playing with colorful blocks or curiously crawling around the room she was in, taking in her surroundings.

What both children had in common, however, was that lately, they were driving him utterly _and_ completely insane. Don't take him wrong, he loved his children, but they made it harder for him to concentrate while working when they were always crawling after him and tugging unto his coat to try and climb unto his lap. And when he finally conceded they started bawling at one another, trying to push the other off. He had heard of sibling rivalry, but _this_ was ridiculous!

"Why don't we appoint them a nanny?" Mausinger suggested to Ratja that night as they tucked the twins into their respective cribs.

"I don't like the idea of somebody else looking after the children," Ratja said simply. "I don't want to make the same mistake other royals do of leaving their children's upbringing completely in other people's hands."

"That's not what I'm suggesting in the least. I'm just saying that we _desperately_ need a hand. If one child would have been lots of work, just look at how much time _two_ consume."

Ratja raised an eyebrow. "How curious, you didn't complain much a few months ago."

"Back then, at least I didn't have to worry about the children wandering off somewhere while we're working!"

That became a constant ever since Lillian and Leon had learned how to crawl. Somehow they were _smart_ enough to get out of their cribs and wander off somewhere. They had the entire castle staff look for them in every crevice and crack. Hell, before that particular event he had _never_ been so scared of Ratja before. And where did they find the kids? In his study playing with the ink, ruining lots of important parchments in the process. He was _still_ working on the copies.

"Are you still sore about the issue with the ink?"

Mausinger sighed. "I still fail to understand how they even got to climb unto the desk if they're so small. Anyhow, when was the last time we had a decent sleep these past weeks?"

"Otto, decent sleep is not in your vocabulary, in your good days you only sleep six hours. Sometimes you don't _even_ come to bed _at all_."

"We can thank _that_ incident for it."

"You can't blame them entirely for it. If _someone_ had secured their cribs properly…"

"I did!"

He was ignored as Ratja tucked Leon into his crib, planting a small kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams, little one."

"Um, Ratja…" Mausinger whispered, panicking as Lillian started to wiggle in his arms. His wife sighed and she took Lillian from him; she only needed to bounce her for a few seconds to get her to calm down. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"They _always_ soothe down when you hold them. When I try it, they get restless."

"You're giving it too much importance, love. You just need to get the hang of it." Lillian was then tucked into her crib and kiss goodnight. "Besides, Lilly has your character."

Mausinger chuckled. "If you say so," he pulled his wife into an embrace.

* * *

He would have liked to sleep all night, but unfortunately, a few hours later he was awakened by a loud cry coming from the nursery next door.

"Your turn." he heard Ratja groan in her sleep as she turned her back on him and hid beneath the covers.

Mausinger sighed. It definitely would be so much easier if they got a nanny for the twins. With a tired groan, he left the bed and made his way towards the nursery. It was a nice, clear night. The moonlight was filtering through the windows and partly illuminating the room in a soothing blue light. It was definitely calming.

But he had no time for that. He went to check on Lillian first. Her pacifier had slipped from her mouth. Mausinger sighed again as he placed it back into her mouth. Sometimes he wondered if she just did that to get attention.

When he went to check on Leon, however, he froze half-way when he realized his cradle was empty. "Leon?" He checked thoroughly under the blankets and then around the room, but there was no trace of him. He looked thrice around the place before he finally realized what had happened. "Damn it, Leon!" Mausinger cursed under his breath. Where could he have gone this time? He was about to leave to begin the search outside when he glanced back at Lillian's crib.

Oh, no, he wasn't going to take the risk of _her_ crawling off somewhere too. He returned to the side of the cradle to gently pick her up.

"Sorry, Lilly, but knowing you, you'll try to go after your brother, and _one_ lost baby at _this_ hour is enough for me." He apologized after she looked up at him with half-open eyelids. She merely snuggled against his sleeping gown and went back to sleep.

As he went back into the corridor, he found he didn't have to go _very_ far. Leon was clumsily trying to make his way on top of the carpet, but every few seconds he'd slip and try again. Mausinger sighed in deep relief. "There you are, you little rascal." He murmured as he picked his son up from the floor. Leon squirmed unhappily and tried to wiggle out of his father's hold to no avail. This continued even after being placed back into his crib.

"No, Leon, don't." No matter how many times he put the little one back on the crib, Leon would roll unto his belly and try climbing over the bars. Mausinger sighed. What to do...?

What would _Ratja_ do? There was no way he'd wake her up at this time. He didn't want her to think he couldn't handle an infant. That would _certainly_ be embarrassing. To make matters worse, soon Lillian decided she wanted some attention as well and started to try climbing out of the crib too. Oh, for the love of...!

Mausinger took a few deep breaths to calm down. He could do this. If he survived a rampaging Oakenhart, an army of monsters and the Horned One, he could handle two babies. He gently took both children in his arms and went to sit in the rocking chair.

"I swear, you two are going to be the death of me..." he murmured as he carefully accommodated each baby in one arm. "I'm still wondering where you got it from. Neither your mother nor I were that energic when we were kids, as far as I know."

Lillian suckled on her thumb, while Leon continued to squirm in discomfort. He wondered if they needed a diaper change... No, it didn't smell like it. Thank the gods, he certainly didn't want to change diapers at this hour. He always left it to Ratja, no matter how many times she tried to teach him he could never last longer than thirty seconds.

Leon sneezed and opened his eyes slightly. Mausinger noted his son had Ratja's blue eyes, contrasting Lilly's crimson red ones, which she got from him. His eyes locked with Leon's. The little one had ceased in his squirming and was curiously staring up at him.

He couldn't help but be reminded of Evan. He remembered his first meeting with the then-young prince. It had been a few days after his birth that Leonhard and Queen Evelyn were tending to some business and the little prince started to cry in his nursery. Mausinger had been casually passing by when he heard him wailing. His first instinct was to go check on him, just in case he needed something.

He had never held a child before in his life, and yet somehow he managed to take the little prince in his arms to calm him down; to his surprise, Evan took a quick liking to him, as Leonhard pointed out after catching him in the act. Both got a good laugh about it. Leonhard had pointed out he'd be a wonderful father, and even asked him when he'd tie the knot. Mausinger had denied it back then, but it had come to happen... He wondered what his old friend would have said if he saw him now.

The memory brought a few tears to his eyes. Leon seemed to notice something was wrong; his little hands gripped his father's sleeping down and he started gurgling, almost as if asking him if he was okay. Mausinger smiled.

"...You know, Leon, you were named after a good friend of mine. You would have loved to meet him, he was a great man... We were brothers in all but blood..." This time a single tear trickled down his cheek. "Perhaps one day I'll tell you more; when you're old enough. It's an interesting story..."

Lillian had long fallen asleep and it wasn't long before her brother followed suit, both snuggling against the warm, protective arms of their father. They looked so peaceful, so innocent...Sometimes it's hard to believe that all people, from every nation, starts out like this, and yet as years go by, they all change just like the seasons. Some become wonderful people, like Leonhard, while others turn twisted and corrupted, like Gottonberg.

Mausinger couldn't help but give it some thought. Both grimalkins had a similar upbringing, and yet they were polar opposites. Leonhard turned out to have a big heart and an open mind, spreading out his arms to mousekind even if it brought him constant criticism by his own people. Gottonberg, on the other hand, was just like all the previous grimalkin kings before Leonhard: xenophobic against rodents, always doing everything he could do assert his 'superiority'.

He wondered what had been the key difference that caused them to turn out so differently. Perhaps that was their true natures all along or maybe it was something else... Whatever the reason, he was glad to have called Leonhard a friend, even if he regrettably forgot for some time.

Looking down at his two children, he tenderly kissed their foreheads. Lillian and Leon would _never_ repeat his same mistakes if he had a say in the matter. They would be just like Leonhard and Evan; they would never judge their people for their species. They'd see everyone-cat, mice or otherwise-as their equal. They would make both he and Ratja proud.

Speaking of Ratja, she wouldn't mind if he stayed a bit longer with the kids, right?

* * *

Next morning, she woke to find Otto was not in bed. She wasn't surprised. Sometimes he'd wake up in the middle of the night to finish some pending work and didn't return to sleep. No matter how many times she insisted that he take a break, it seemed like it went into one ear and left through the other. Much to her surprise, however, she did not find him in his study submerged in paperwork. She was momentarily confused until she recalled the twins had started crying last night and he had gone to put them back to sleep.

Curious, Ratja made her way to the nursery to see if they were okay. The door was slightly open.

The sight almost made her melt. Otto was on the rocking chair, sound asleep, with Lilly and Leon, also sleeping, tucked protectively in each arm.

Ratja couldn't help smiling. She silently went to get her Leafbook and took a picture. After all, such a cute sight _had_ to be immortalized. She briefly considered if she should post it or not, but decided against it in the last moment. She decided that this photo would be hers only.

Ratja silently tip-toed into the room to gently plant a kiss on her husband's forehead. Surely a few extra hours of sleep wouldn't hurt him.


End file.
